Beehive.



F. DANZENBAKER.

BEEHIVE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30. I9I4.

1 1 54, 1 76 Patented Sept. 21, 1915.

UNIT er FRANCIS DANZENBAKER, OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA.

BEEHIVE.

Specification of LettersPatent.

,Patente d. Sept, 21 1915.

-Application filed'Noveimber 30,1914. serial -Npi 8743747.

To all whom it may-concern Be it known that 1, Famous DANZEN- BAKER, of Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk, and in the State of virginia have invented a certain new randruseful lmprovementrin Beehives, and do hereby: declare that, thrf0l lowing is a full, clear, and exact'description thereof.

The object of myinvention is; toimprove bee hives in respect of themeans for sup porting the removable frameszused inthe brood: chamber for supporting brood combs and in; the supers for'supportingthe honey sections, these vrframesl being termed, respectively, broodframes and honeysection' holders. I have heretofore used pledges, or flanges on the hive walls formed of, sheet metal on w which I said frames rest 2011 their bottoms at the ends and by my presentinvention I obviate certain-difiiculties-Whi-ch the use ofv'these have disclosed, and I otherwise-render the construction advantageous.

A further object of my invention 1 is the provision of a member capable of performing the functions of asuper cover, a-bee escape,=and .a winter cover.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is.-a.perspective viewrof a-portion of a bee hive illustrating-my invention; -Fig.-2 isqa verticalsection thereof; Fig. 3is-al'detail view in perspective of niy frame support.

In the-accompanying drawings, rlOindicates the hive wall which may; be a portion 0f the brood, chamber wall, or a'portion of the super wal1,.-and 11v designates theframes to: be supported which may be brood frames, or; section holders. Projecting horizontally inwardly from the hive Wallis-a flange or ledge 1'2,'formed1of-a narrow strip of-sheet metal having. at its inner edge: an'up-wardly and outwardly-inclined member 13 thatyis inserted in-an obliquely extendingncutor kerfli in=thehive-wall, this cut-or kerf in the construction shown extending from the lower inner corner of the wall, for;-in such construction the supportingledge 12 isiin the plane of the bottomof: the hive. At= intervals nails 15 are driven horizontally through; the wallwat: points withinthe verti- "cal! l'ntnits; .of thetkerf; and. passing through uneven surfaces, or irregularities in the metal :StIlP above. the ledge which otherwise Wouldform-projections on theinner side of the-hive wall being covered by'the 1-wood, and-hence, perfectly smooth, or-planesurffacesare provided on the inner surface of the hiveiwall making easy the placing'of the frame 111 in position. I gain by embedding the upwardly extending ledge member 13 in Wood itis; protected from rust.

:I have -a-'fra-med member, so constructed thatit is capable ofvperforming thefunctions of; a super-cover, a: bee escape for the removal of bees from the super and the function of a 'IVIIlbGIwCOVQI. Saidmember consists ofaa rectangular flatplatedG of asbestos slate a material-Lhave found peculiarly suited for beehives, :and a frame composed of four similar side, bars-17 :joined at thecornersandpeachcontaining on the inner side a groove 18 ,toreceive, an edge of the plate. ,Thelgroove is locatedmuch nearer one side of. tbczframe bars than the other so that-a shall-ow space-lies-between the plane of-that side ofthe plateand' the plane of, the OHtQI' SIEGlGS. of the said bars,,the space being a bee-escape while on the opposite side of the plate aspace of much greater depth is provided. An'important advantage in, the use of: thesframeds that'the outside dimensions of; the member correspond with the external dimensions: of. the; hive enabling a material saving-in the cost -of:the plate of asbestos Slate, for I cantthusuuse asmallsize that is of stan-darld manufacture,whereas, were I to use-a plate withouta-frame and having the external dimensions ofthe hive it would reqni-rea out down, plate of standard manufacture iillfllTIVzOIdld, cost, more than twice .as much. iBut besidesgthezfrarne in connection with=the plate gives: themember the important functional advantages that I have indicated. In making the bee escape one of the end bars of the frame is provided with one or more, preferably three holes 19 that extend horizontally through the bar from the outside to the inside where they communicate with the deeper space within the frame.

When said member is used as a super cover it is placed at the top of the super with the shallow space downward, or imme diately above the honey-holding sections. This provides a bee space above the honey sections for the free passage of bees and the gathering of bees in quantity therein thus helping materially to keep up by the animal heat of the bees that degree of temperature in the hive (which is 98 degrees F.) that is necessary. Thus may be assured that temperature which is suitable for working the wax and it assures the filling of the sections in the corners thereof as well as elsewhere and avoids the familiar popholes in the corners of the sections which detract from the appearance and value of the comb honey therein. The deeper space in the upper part of the member when used as a super cover can be filled with corrugated paper, or other packing material which also serves the purpose of conserving the heat within the hive and preventing its radiation. The provisionof the bee space in the super cover is very important in that it assures the proper room for the bees above the honey section even though shrinkage of the hive sides which may occur diminishes the bee space which is usually provided in the construction of the hive. As is well known, if the distance between the top of the honey sections and the underside of the super cover is less than a bee space, the bees will propolize, or glue the sections to the cover, a proceeding that is objectionable, in that the bees waste time in gathering propolis and applying it, and it soils the cover. Said framed member when used as a winter cover is reversed from the position it occupies when used as a super cover so that the deeper space is below the plate of asbestos slate and affords a large space for the bees to cluster in great quantities as they naturally do in wintering. The shallow space above the top of the place in this case can be filled with corrugated paper, or other packing for heat insulation.

For removing bees from the super the framed member is placed beneath the super with the deeper space upward and thus communication between the hive or brood chamber and the super is cut off and the bees seeing the light through the holes 19 in the frame end bar will; pass out therefrom. Each hole has inserted into its outer end a tube 20 of perforated sheet metal, or

wire that projects at its free end sufiiciently beyond the frame bar so that bees cannot readily find, or enter that end, and hence, cannot pass back into the hive. Any odor, or scent of honey fromthe super which would attract the bees and cause them to attempt to return would be emitted through the holes in the perforated tube which being close to the front side of the bar would cause the bees to'gather upon the bar around the tube at that point so that their efiorts to'reenter the hive would be made at that point, and, of course, make no attempt to enter the outer end of the tube, a thing in itself of great diflicultyby reason of the absence of any supports forthe bees. The internal diameter of the holes and tubes is preferably just enoughto allow a bee to pass through without ability to turn' around, a thing which they sometimes do when the hole is large enough and thereby obstruct the outward passage of other bees. It is a great advantage to remove thebees directly from the super without compelling them to pass from the escape into the brood chamber, because in passing through the brood chamber they have to work their way through clusters of bees and the types of bee escape used for that purpose are subject to being choked by the passing bees wit-hthe result that suffocation of bees inthe hive takes place. only twoof them may be equipped with the escape tube so that the third is left free for the ingress of bees under conditions making their ingress desirable. Thus a weak colony would be protected because but one in-' '95 When three holes are provided gress' opening would exist which a weak colony might readily guard.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is 1. As an improvement in beehives, the combination of a hive wall, and a framesupporting ledge consisting of a metal strip that has a portion extending inwardly from the inner surface of the hive wall, and a portion that extends upwardly and outwardly, the wall having a correspondingly inclined cut or kerf to receive such upwardly and outwardly extending portions.

2. As an improvement in bee hives, the combination of a hive wall, and a framesupporting ledge consisting of a metal strip that has a portion extending inwardly from the inner surface of the hive wall and a portion that extends upwardly and outwardly, the wall having a correspondingly inclined cut or kerf to receive such upwardly and outwardly extending portions, and nails passing into the hive wall atpoints where they also pass through said upwardly and outwardly inclined portions.

3. A bee hive member comprising a framed fiat plate, the frame consisting of bars on all four sides of the plate, a greater In testimony that I claim the foregoing space being provided on one side of the I have hereiinto set my hand.

plate than on the other, and an end bar be- FRANCIS D ANZENB AKER lng perforated so that communication is .provided between such space and the out- Witnesses:

side of the bar whereby bees may pass be- CHARLES J. WILLIAMSON, tween the inside and outside of the hive. A. T. HAYES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

